son-in-law

Chapter 1273 Ever since I first saw the peach blossom (Part )

In the early hours of the morning, Zhou Junwu had also woken up.

I went to sit on the south-facing tower of the imperial city. The morning breeze was cool, and under the gray sky, I could see lights gradually flickering in the city.

Whenever something big happens, he would habitually come here to observe the situation.

It also always reminds him of Jiang Ning.

Fuzhou and Jiangning share similar intersecting waterways, with gardens scattered among them and various trees dotted in the gardens. After the passage of time, the old city of Fuzhou feels smaller than Jiangning. The misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River in my memory is more moist, with the main color of ink and paper, while Fuzhou prefers white walls and tiles with grayish green, which is more like Jiangning that has faded a layer of water color and is not as moist.

Jiangning was just a small town in the huge Wu Dynasty, but Fuzhou, a remote place, was the largest town under his jurisdiction as an emperor. Even so, he couldn't manage it clearly.

Standing on the city wall, he often had such thoughts.

In the early morning of that day, thoughts about Jiang Ning became particularly specific.

Looking east from this wall, in the Princess's Mansion, which is shaded by trees, the master's child came here from thousands of miles away. This is something that no one else can believe, and it seems to contain many strange things.

Looking back, as the prince of the palace and later as the crown prince of the country, he had many teachers. During the time in Jiangning, he interacted with a man named Ning Yi. In fact, looking back, it was not a serious teaching. Compared with Grandpa Kang, Grandpa Qin, and many serious Confucian scholars later, Ning Yi taught them a lot of miscellaneous knowledge, broadened their horizons, provided them with many new ideas, took him and his sister to do some experiments, taught his sister the strange so-called equation, and told him that the earth is round.

If it were just that, it would seem impossible to say that this was the master who impressed him the most.

But he had met many outstanding people in his life, such as Grandpa Kang, Grandpa Qin, Zong Ze, Yue Fei, and they were all heroes who were as determined as iron until death. Ning Yi didn't teach him much when he was in Jiangning. Life in Jiangning was leisurely, and he was a little prince who was destined to live a mediocre life. When the two of them met occasionally, Ning Yi would talk about enjoying life in the moment besides talking about the world's miscellaneous knowledge. Seeing that he was keen on studying things, he also taught him to make some small flying objects such as Kongming lanterns. In fact, if you think about it carefully, I'm afraid he didn't regard himself as a serious apprentice.

But later, the cloth merchant's son-in-law went to the north, expanded Zhuji, took over the Secret Investigation Department, and when the Jurchens moved south, he helped Grandpa Qin defend Bianliang. After that, he hacked his uncle, the emperor, to death with a single knife, and killed people like Tong Guan in the Golden Throne Hall. He then started a rebellion, and later fought for the world in Xiaocang River... Perhaps we can only say that men will always grow up by looking at the back of another man.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. He had changed from a dull little prince to a dull emperor. He led some comrades who could be called outstanding people in this remote place with trepidation. He had risked his life, but he could not make much progress. He had a lot of things to say to his former master, but he always felt that he would be severely scolded.

I would also think, after not seeing him for more than ten years, is the master I imagined still the same master as before? After experiencing more than ten years of events, would he become something else, the gentle and calm person he was in Jiangning City?

Of course, the second son of the master whom he met yesterday seemed to be somewhat similar to himself in temperament, a very unreliable and dull younger generation. Although he felt that the other party was rather vulgar, unlearned and unskillful, which embarrassed the master, but when he thought about it, he was the same, and suddenly felt a little more familiar with him.

Master has taught so many people in the past ten years, and it is obviously impossible for him to always have top students like Zuo Wenxuan and Zuo Wenhuai. It is inevitable that there will be third-rate people like me and that Ning Ji kid. I think Master will get used to it. Thinking about it this way, it turns out that Ning Ji and I are comrades.

I want to go to the Princess's Mansion and teach her some of my experience as a foolish senior so as to narrow the distance between us, but there are still many things to do today, so I can only wait here.

Things in the city have been arranged. Around the hour of Yin, looking out from the palace wall, light gradually rose in the city where originally only patrollers and night watchmen were holding lanterns. The Military Academy, newspaper office and other places had already woken up. Jun Wu looked out with a telescope. In the dim light, there seemed to be hidden figures lurking in the city, connecting the first wave of information in the early morning.

In response to the news of the fall of Lin'an, a decision was made internally yesterday to order the Beiwei and Zhenhai armies to attack to provide disaster relief and take in refugees. Although the imperial edict has not been issued yet, it is not surprising for the opponents who are closely following the situation in the imperial city to know about it in advance. They should be prepared without waiting until dawn.

Before the expected return of the ship, the situation in Fuzhou was like a fishing trip. The fish was hooked in the mouth and could only struggle hard before being caught, and the fisherman could only reel in the line, tightening and loosening it, worried that the line would break.

Halfway through the Yin hour, there were sounds of commotion coming from the direction of the newspaper office. The first assassination went in the direction of Li Pin. Not long after, there were two more commotions heard in the city.

At noon, the sky was already light in the east. Amid the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs, the students of the Military Academy lined up to leave the school, attracting the attention of the people on the road who had gotten up early in the morning.

Several minor disturbances still occurred in the city, and reports were handed in one by one, some of which made Jun Wu sneer, and some of which made him frown. The summer sun gradually rose, and the morning breeze gradually warmed, like a pot of soup gradually boiling.

After the Mao hour, the eunuch came to report that Li Guang, Hu Quan, Tong Chaomei and other ministers had come to see him one after another. They were going to question this big move. Jun Wu sighed, and then asked them to come one after another...

******
It was also early morning on the other side of the city.

In the yard, groups of people had sharpened their knives and were eating and drinking. Huang Shengyuan sat on a chair under the eaves, drank a few mouthfuls of porridge, and looked at them seriously.

Those who followed him to Fuzhou this time were all his relatives.

The Huang family has been smuggling in Putian for many years and has become a local big family. Huang Shengyuan is not the main branch of the Huang family. He was able to rise from a side branch to the second in command of the family by being ruthless and ruthless, but also by being able to judge the situation and bend and stretch. He is a hero-like figure, of course, more like a hero than a hero.

The Huang family had been rich for several generations, and Huang Bailong, the main branch, like many other big families in Fujian, began to show some elegance and wanted to build a family that would last for thousands of years. He cared about face, while Huang Shengyuan cared about the inner strength of the Huang family. Huang Shengyuan had done dirty work all his life, so he didn't agree with Huang Bailong's style.

Besides, Huang Shengyuan also has the ambition to make progress. The Huang family gradually became more honest, and the children from the lower branches began to study and do good deeds. His branch was always suppressed by the main family and could not make any progress. If they committed any crime, they would be the ones to take the blame. If the Huang family wanted to take over the main branch with a side branch, it would have to make some unusual changes.

Of course, when this change came, Huang Shengyuan also had some difficulty in making a decision.

As the head of the Huang family who does dirty work, his dealings with the pirates such as the Pu family and the Chen family are deeper than Huang Bailong imagined - of course, this does not mean that Huang Bailong has lost control of the family property - as a smuggling family with deep roots in Putian, Huang Bailong has his own huge network of relationships. As for Huang Shengyuan, during his more than ten years of management career, he has developed a deeper friendship with some particularly ruthless pirates.

When Pu, Chen and other pirates rebelled, Huang Bailong sat back and cut ties with some of the people. However, Huang Shengyuan did not make such a calm choice. He had always been in contact with Pu, Chen and others, and had privately persuaded Huang Bailong to be prepared for rebellion.

But Huang Bailong is more like the spokesperson for several behind-the-scenes masters in Fuzhou City. He will not take the initiative to express his position until the critical moment.

Huang Shengyuan also once thought about marrying his daughter to the palace. If his daughter was well-behaved and favored, there would be no need to rebel, and Huang Shengyuan's branch would no longer have to look at the face of the main family.

Unfortunately, just as things were about to start, when her daughter came into private contact with Chen Shuangran and his gang of desperadoes, she was spotted by the grandmaster-level thug. After being humiliated, she died.

According to the grandmaster, the daughter committed suicide.

This is Huang Bailong's fault. He sent his daughter to the clan school when she was young to learn women's training and admonitions. His daughter learned very well and became a famous lady in the area. But before she got married, such a thing happened.

As a result, his way to enter the palace was blocked. On the other hand, his contacts with the Chen family bandits could not be allowed. In addition, his daughter died and he offended the vicious "Tiger Shark" Zhan Yunhai. Huang Shengyuan was in a state of panic.

Of course, he later realized that the whole thing might be a problem that Chen Shuangran had given him after she learned that he intended to send his daughter to the palace, but now that things had come to this, how many choices did he have? After making the decision, he took people to Fuzhou, determined to resolve the matter. In private, he worked very hard to run around, lobby, and connect for Chen Shuangran's affairs, but the whole thing got deeper and deeper.

Ever since Chen Shuangran's people asked him to personally kill people and cause chaos yesterday, Huang Shengyuan understood that he had been controlled step by step by the other party. From a partner who had invested in the company, he was being used as a vanguard.

The morning breeze was blowing, and the light of dawn was pouring in along the courtyard wall. A companion with ragged white hair came in from outside and brought a newspaper: "That little bitch was right. The emperor has sent out troops and started to act."

"...I don't have the energy left."

Huang Shengyuan took a breath, held the newspaper in his hand and read it for a while, then put it down. He already had a feeling about some things, but it was still difficult to make a decision.

"Chen Shuangran is a lunatic, but the official news is correct. The Ministry of Revenue has already run out of money, and the emperor's private money has long been spent. Is he sending troops to provide disaster relief just relying on this little bit of frugality reported in the newspaper?"

"There is news in private that the emperor is hosting a banquet for more than ten families on the first day of the new year, led by the Liu family, who plan to use all their wealth to support the court in helping the disaster victims..."

"What a lie! I was there on New Year's Day, so if it happened, I would have heard it..."

"..."

Huang Shengyuan threw the newspaper on the table. The people next to him didn't say anything. After a while, Huang Shengyuan stood up.

"…But what you said is that the situation is such that it's time to force people to take sides."

He waved and called a young man under the eaves nearby, patting him on the shoulder: "Pack your things immediately and return to Putian as quickly as possible. Find your second uncle and tell him that our branch is going to the mountain. After the people are arranged, go to Huang Bailong with your second uncle and force him to make a decision. Tell him that we have rebelled in Fuzhou and we will expose all the dirty things of the Huang family. He has no choice. The emperor here wants money and will not let the Huang family go... No matter if he follows or not, you go to the mountain."

The young man grinned, then clasped his hands and bowed: "I have wanted to go up the mountain for a long time."

"Go."

He patted the other man's shoulder, and the young man ran out of the courtyard. Huang Shengyuan kicked the chair beside him, and the chair shattered against the wall. He stood quietly in the morning sun and took a long breath.

Everyone in the courtyard looked around and exchanged glances. Some threw their weapons to their companions, while others carried daggers on their bodies.

"Everyone knows the grudges with the He family."

The He family, headed by He Yuanchen, has been fighting with the Huang family in the Putian underworld for decades.

There were voices coming from far away on the street outside the yard, and Huang Shengyuan glanced over.

"Now, it's time to kill."

******
“…I don’t want to kill anyone.”

As the sun shone down, on the wall of the imperial city, Jun Wu was eating breakfast while meeting Li Guang and Hu Quan. Li and Hu looked at the emperor's breakfast, which was just as the imperial edict said, two steamed buns and a dish of pickled vegetables, very simple.

"...But according to the report from the Ministry of Justice, since early morning, there have been eleven fights and assassinations of varying sizes in the city, four of which were relatively serious, with more than ten people fighting for revenge...Someone tried to assassinate Mr. Li Pin in the early morning but failed. But in the south of the city, the thief Tunyun assassinated Mr. Puyang, a royal merchant, and now Mr. Puyang is seriously injured. The imperial doctor has rushed over...Someone also sneaked into the gunpowder depot of the Patrol City Office in the east of the city, but fortunately he was discovered and caused an explosion. You should have noticed this on your way here..."

Li Guang and Hu Quan sighed in their hearts as they listened.

"...In fact, the reason why I want to see you is not because of some minor issues in the city right now." Li Guang stepped forward, "but because many of the measures this time were originally under discussion by the cabinet. If Your Majesty does not inform us, it may seem... arbitrary. This matter may easily disappoint you, the adults."

"Oh, I'm disappointed." Jun Wu took a bite of the steamed bun, sighed and nodded, and said after a while, "So, aren't what I did just trivial things? The Wubei Academy is just a school, and I don't need the cabinet's approval to send them out to do something; the Beiwei and Zhenhai armies opened their borders and took in refugees, which is what they should do in times of war. It's disaster relief, not a major event of fighting. As for my call for frugality and sharing the difficulties, isn't it the same after entering Fujian? I can do it, and you adults should cooperate."

"Your Majesty, what you said is really like trying to cover up the truth." Hu Quan couldn't help but take a step forward.

Jun Wu looked towards Hu Quan and said, "I can also steal the bell without covering my ears."

There have always been several factions of varying sizes in the imperial court of Fujian.

Among them, Cheng Zhouhai, Wenren Buer and others who came from the Qin Siyuan era and some Jiangning officials naturally belonged to the core faction that Junwu and Zhou Pei relied on the most; while some local officials and ministers from Fujian belonged to the local faction, which seemed to have few senior officials but actually had deep roots and controlled most of the grassroots. The core faction both wooed and relied on the local faction, and also divided and suppressed it, which has always been the mainstream trend among the middle and lower levels of the court.

Many officials, led by Li Guang and Hu Quan, were famous officials who followed Jun Wu to the south. Many of them had already made their mark during the Zhou Zhe period, and many of them were representatives of major clans from all over the world. After Zhou Yong's death, these people followed Jun Wu to Fujian, hoping to revive the Wu Dynasty and return the country to its former glory. Many of them were by no means mediocre, such as Li Guang and Hu Quan, who were capable officials with outstanding means and radical ideas. However, after arriving in Fujian, they faced a situation where the emperor was even more radical than them, so much so that they could hardly keep up. This made the outsiders and famous officials, who were supposed to be the main body of the court, in a rather embarrassing situation.

The culprit is of course Ning Yi.

Whether it was the so-called New Confucianism that he forced Li Pin to do, or the so-called constitutional monarchy concept that he passed on through the Zuo family, it was the most unorthodox idea for everyone. Everyone had already had a lot of discussions before, and this was actually not a question of Confucian belief. In the final analysis, Li Guang and others believed that the idea of ​​constitutional monarchy would not work because the people were not educated enough. The idea of ​​using the power of the grassroots to counterattack the middle and high-level bureaucrats and divide power equally to achieve political clarity was impossible at the moment.

And there is also a more direct practical logic in this.

The essence of what the famous officials said was to maintain things was actually the consensus of the Wu Dynasty as the orthodox Confucian family. In their initial imagination, they hoped that the emperor could raise his arms and call for "co-governance with the literati", and even in this broken world, they would eventually be able to gather the hearts of the people and restore the Wu Dynasty. Even after this imagination was broken by the rebellious emperor, people like Li Guang and Hu Quan did not give up completely. They debated with Li Pin and others, worked in the court, and insisted on making direct remonstrations to the emperor.

Firstly, although Jun Wu's thoughts were polluted by Ning Yi and he became rebellious, in terms of how he behaves and does things, he is indeed the most moving and outstanding embryo in the Wu Dynasty in several generations. He can lead by example on the battlefield and has a passion in his heart. In private, he behaves with virtue and frugality. Beyond his ideals, everyone can clearly feel his humility. Such a potential emperor is worth cherishing - especially since he is the only one.

On the other hand, the famous officials firmly believed that Ning Yi's path was not feasible. Since it was not feasible, he would face failure sooner or later. Once he failed, Junwu would still have to use their method and take the political path. The changes in the trend and the rise and fall of people were actually common. Therefore, over the past few years, although many people left because of their disappointment in Junwu, Li Guang and others who stayed behind became more and more direct in their words in front of Junwu.

Junwu was ruthless and cruel to the Fujian faction. On the surface, he said nice things, but in fact, he killed people without mercy, leaving a bad reputation. However, he basically did not use heavy hands against these famous officials. Sometimes he was bullied, sometimes he was scolded, and even when he couldn't stand the scolding, he would be furious and scold the other party. But in fact, the harshest words he said were just "Get out of here, get away, I don't want to see you again." In the final analysis, he also understood that these people were not enemies.

When the news of Lin'an's fall came, Junwu summoned his ministers to discuss the matter. Although this matter was distressing, it was a political benefit to Li Guang and others. The Wu Dynasty court was in the southeast and took things slowly, which was equivalent to evading its responsibilities and commitments to the whole world to a certain extent. However, Lin'an was symbolic to the Wu Dynasty. If Lin'an was broken, Fujian would have to send troops to take it back. Once it was taken back, Junwu would be able to wave the flag to the whole world as the "orthodox Wu Dynasty". At that time, the little emperor would have to put aside the resistance of the literati and officials to respect the king and expel the barbarians, which was definitely not comparable to the current situation in Fujian.

On the other hand, if you want to send troops, you need money. Now the Ministry of Revenue has run out of money, and it is difficult for Fuzhou to make money. If you really want to send troops, you will only have to eat the food of the next year before the current one. He needs the emperor to make more specific political commitments to the whole world and to the interests of all parties outside. That is why, as soon as the news came, the right prime minister Li Guang and others emphasized the deficit of the Ministry of Revenue while trying to persuade and sell ways to get out of the predicament. As long as the emperor gave in, woke up, and returned to the Confucian tradition, they could attract a lot of "investment" from all over the world.

Who knew that the cabinet's discussion was just a formality, and before a decision was made, the emperor simply bypassed the cabinet, played out all the trump cards like the Military Academy, cut back on food and ate pickles, and only mobilized the two most capable armies in the name of disaster relief, a sense of dislocation that seemed to be going all out but seemed to have no intention of doing so. This made the well-prepared officials hit in vain, and they could only curse the Zuo family for controlling the way of speech and the emperor still not learning well.

The two sides confronted each other on the city wall for a while. Hu Quan said sadly: "The world has been occupied for a long time, and now Lin'an is facing another catastrophe. Your Majesty has failed the world's expectations. If you still shrink back and dare not go north at this time, it will chill the hearts of the people in the world..."

"But if I decide to go north now, I will be blackmailed by you."

"We sincerely welcome His Majesty, how can we say this is blackmail? Your Majesty's words are chilling."

"Governing the country together with the scholars and officials is nothing more than this. What's new?"

"Li Pin is new, but so are we. When things in the world are exhausted, they change. Over the years, our ideas have changed, but the complex and useful changes in the world are often silent. Expecting an idea to change the world is just a child's delusion." Li Guang said, "Even if you take a step back, Your Majesty is new. In the past, Your Majesty had the image of a sage monarch. The family monarchy has a long history, and it is often the sage monarchs who revive it, and the mediocre monarchs who ruin it. Your Majesty..."

"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense..." Jun Wu waved his hands vigorously, "The ideological dispute has been going on for a long time. The matter is not finished, so don't discuss it anymore. Don't you know my will?"

Li Guang took a step back and sighed.

After a while, Jun Wu also sighed.

"It's not that I don't want to take back Lin'an..."

He said slowly.

"In the past few years, I have argued with you about many things. I should say that we have argued very clearly. I don't hate the literati. I just think that there are too few useful literati in this world and too many selfish ones. We have to change. These ideas have been pushed forward for so many years. It is said that men are as firm as iron until death. There must be a result. Two teachers, you have been doing great things for a longer time than me. I also learned these practices from you..."

"Before we go out to fight, I will release the students of the Military Academy. I want to see if they can join the army and integrate my ideas and thoughts into the army, so that they know why they are fighting. If they want to agree, then at least they can't fight for you or for my Zhou family. I have to tell them what home and country are, and let them know that we are equal..."

"Lin'an has been broken. This is a big deal. Many people will die and all lives will be lost. This is the sin of my Zhou family, but I cannot agree to you. I cannot hastily make deals with the rentiers in the world just to get out. Are you really doing this for those who have lost all their lives? You are just keeping and pitying your own cattle and sheep..."

"Many people in this world have awakened. I can be defeated, but I cannot retreat. If I remain indecisive at this moment, teachers, can I be worthy of those people I have killed in Fujian in the past two years? Did I really kill them for my own personal gain? Am I cruel and ruthless? Brutal and tyrannical... No, if possible, I want to be a carefree little prince in Jiangning City, eating and waiting to die all day long. Even if I become the emperor, I want to ask for the word Ren, and be named Renzong after my death. But I can't choose this way. The world wants me to choose Wu, but it is not good for the Wu Dynasty to have Emperor Wu - so I can also ask for Li -"

The sun had risen, the trees in the city were swaying in the hot wind, riots were happening, Jun Wu had finished his steamed buns, his eyes were full of gloom and heartache. Li Guang cupped his hands and said, "In fact, the Wu Dynasty has come to this point, it is not your Majesty. Your Majesty has been on the throne for a few years, and many things have been seen by us old men. In fact, it should be better for the literati, and this old minister also agrees."

"I don't want to complain. All of you who followed me to Fujian over the years have suffered a lot and have nowhere to complain. I just want to say that there are some things that you two teachers don't need to force me on. I understand that you don't agree with respecting the king and expelling the barbarians, but if I give up halfway, I'm afraid you will look down on me even more..."

"As for Lin'an, it's not that we don't want it, nor is it that we are afraid. The students of the Military Academy went to the Beiwei Army. If there is a good set of regulations for treating and comforting the refugees, the places that should be taken in can naturally be taken back slowly. But we have to eat one bite at a time, do things one step at a time, and be down-to-earth and take it step by step to accomplish things. Do you two gentlemen agree with this?" He knew that the other party liked to take it step by step, so he asked.

Li Guang and Hu Quan had no choice but to step back: "Alas, concern leads to confusion. I was too hasty."

"I usually like to look out from this city wall, not to see what's going on, but this place often reminds me of Jiangning." Jun Wu looked outside the city wall, was silent for a moment, and then sighed, "When I think of Jiangning, I also think of the Wu Dynasty in the past. At that time, there were flowers and brocade, and we didn't have to worry about anything. How wonderful... But the Jurchens don't let us live that kind of life. Since my teacher in the southwest showed up, the world can no longer be governed as before. I don't know what the two teachers think. Recently, when I think of the Wu Dynasty, I often think of an old poem - not the kind of song and dance. I remember that was a poem that Grandpa Qin Siyuan read to me when I was a child... a poem that I didn't understand at the time, saying 'In the past, I planted willows, swaying in the south of the Han River. Now I see them withering, and I feel sad by the river'..."

When he said this, he smiled slightly. Perhaps they were inspired by the poem, and both Li and Hu sighed slightly.

Then, Jun Wu turned his head and said, "There are some things that I need the help of the two teachers today."

He pointed to the palace wall and said, "I said I don't want to kill anyone, but the situation in Fujian is like this now. There are some things I can't do. I want to investigate the chaos in the city. Lord Chengzhou Haicheng wanted to take charge of this matter, but I rejected him. He has committed too many murders and has a problem with his brain. I don't like him... After thinking about it, I'm afraid that only Lord Li can take charge of such a major matter and give a fair explanation to the world..."

"Then Mr. Li, Mr. Hu...can you help me with this matter?"

……

As the hour of Chen was about to end, Li Guang and Hu Quan had complicated expressions as they walked down the stairs along the palace wall. Then they saw Tong Chaomei, a senior official from Fujian, walking up to them with a look of generosity on his face. The two greeted each other but did not speak.

Tong Chaomei had a long beard and went up with an attitude of sacrificing himself bravely.

"Your Majesty...is slowly learning how to be an emperor." Li Guang sighed softly, and there seemed to be some relief in his words.

Hu Quan also smiled and said: "A good pie is painted and a good pot is used to make the pie... It is indeed quite impressive."

"From your majesty's perspective, what he did was right. We are neutral. He gave us a promise to take things slowly and take back Lin'an, and then let us step forward to suppress the opposition. He shared both the cake and the pot very well... We should bear the responsibility."

Hu Quan smiled somewhat sarcastically, and after a moment, he looked back and said, "What does Lord Li think Tong Chaomei will say to His Majesty, and what does His Majesty think will say to Tong Chaomei?"

"Tong Chaomei is the leader of Fujian. Given his status and position, he will probably dare to speak out against the emperor this time, but it will be useless... His Majesty will probably say this to Tong Chaomei: My army is going to attack Lin'an, but everyone knows that we have no money. If you give me some money, I will leave earlier. If you don't, you can just keep arguing here, hehe..."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

As the sun went down, they both laughed, then sighed and shook their heads.

"... Lord Li, do you think His Majesty... has a chance?"

"...As Your Majesty said, ever since that person from the southwest came out, the world's major events...actually, neither you nor I can see clearly..."

"...let's go...let's watch."

******
The wind gradually became hotter in the morning.

There was a hustle and bustle of carriages and horses in front of the Princess's Mansion.

There have been constant incidents in Fuzhou city in recent days. From last night to today, there have been major events, so much so that dignitaries and their wives from all sides gather at the Princess's Mansion every day, partly to show concern and partly to inquire about various rumors. The Princess's Mansion will always provide everyone with a proper breakfast.

Today's breakfast at the Princess's Mansion was quite simple, emphasizing the theme of sharing the difficulties. It was probably during the time when the Wubei Academy was leaving the city that Zhou Pei dealt with all kinds of people with a decent smile and a little harshly. She was already a relatively mature political creature, and her dealings with people would not be seen by others, but in fact, she was somewhat anxious this morning.

Breakfast time had passed, and Zhou Fuyang, who had gotten up late, was still eating her breakfast slowly in the back. When Zhou Pei finished her business and was about to take the little girl to find trouble with the thief who had robbed her of the candy yesterday, she learned from Zhao Xiaosong and Yue Yinping that the thief named Sun Wukong saw that the city was very lively, and after fighting with Yue Yun, he ran away from the princess's mansion.

"...How can we let him go?" Zhou Pei frowned.

"Mr. Cheng, Cheng has promised that he can come and go freely." Yin Ping replied, and then complained to Zhou Pei indirectly - before the boy left, he viciously cursed the Wu Dynasty court and the Yue family as incompetent bastards.

"I think he was probably angry, so he said something without thinking." Yinping added after finishing the complaint.

"What he said probably makes sense..." Zhou Pei said casually.

"...Huh?" Yinping's eyes twitched.

"...most likely...there is a reason." Zhou Pei corrected herself, and then did not continue to talk about the reason, "In this case, the only one left is the little girl who dressed as a man yesterday..."

"Well, Mr. Cheng said she was a hostage. With her around, we don't have to worry about Sun Wukong running away." Yin Ping said, then lowered her voice, "She changed into women's clothes today, and she looks pretty."

"I gonna go see."

Zhou Pei turned to the back of the princess's mansion, passed through several corridors, and walked into the courtyard where Ning Ji and others were settled. It was already 9:00 p.m., and the morning sun shone through the big banyan tree on one side of the courtyard, falling on the golden courtyard. A girl in a long skirt sat on a stone bench in the courtyard. A small yellow and white flower was adorned next to her simply drooping hair. She also held a bunch of flowers in her hand, and she was closing her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking. The golden sun fell on her hair and face.

Little vixen... Seeing the flowers on the girl's temples, Zhou Pei whispered in her heart - a girl who knows how to dress herself up so pure and lovely is most likely to be very scheming.

But she stepped aside and walked closer, then she saw that the girl holding the flower and closing her eyes was muttering something in a low voice that vaguely resembled the rhythm of Buddhist scriptures that prayed for people. This calmed her heart and she let go of her previous prejudice.

Zhou Pei didn't know that in the morning, Ning Ji was very upset when he thought about Zuo Xingzhou's death. He fought with Yue Yun for a whole hour, and Qu Longjun tried his best to comfort him. When Ning Ji saw the riot in the city, he picked some yellow flowers and stuffed them into Qu Longjun's hand before leaving. Qu Longjun then pinned the flowers on his hair.

Yue Yun also ran away. He fought Ning Ji to a draw, but when Qu Longjun was trying to comfort Ning Ji, he was hit hard, and left while cursing "bosses and bitches all deserved to die".

The rustling sound of footsteps woke up the girl who was chanting Buddhist scriptures. She stood up, and when she saw it was Zhou Pei, she lowered her head and bowed deeply.

"I am Qu Longjun, a commoner, meeting Her Royal Highness the Princess."

"No need to be polite." Zhou Pei laughed, and then said, "Well, your name is Qu Longjun, not Long Aotian."

Under the big banyan tree, Zhou Pei walked into the shade of the tree where the light was falling, sat down on the bluestone bench, and then asked Qu Longjun to sit beside her. She said, "I heard from Mr. Cheng that you are actually the daughter of General Qu Ruiqu." Qu Longjun also responded honestly and answered the questions. Then, under Zhou Pei's questioning, she told her about her acquaintance with Ning Ji and the process since she first saw Taohua until now...

At this time, the chaos in the city was gradually reaching its peak...